CAPT.  TOOMAS  E.  KIXG; 


OR, 


A   WORD  TO  THE  ARMY    AND 
THE  COUNTRY. 

BY  KIT.  JOSEPH  G.  STILES,  D.  D. 


0HAM.K8T0N,  B.  C. : 

Tke  !^«Htk  CarPylina  Tna  Sieiely, 

J.  J.  Toon  A  Co.,  rrint«r«,  Atlastlk,  Ga.     * 


}'■■■ 


1 

l. 

i 

i 

CAPT. 

THOMAS  E.  KING;       ; 

! 
ou, 

* 

A 

WOED 

TO   THE  AKMY    AND 

THE  COUNTRY. 

1 
1 

BY  rSKV. 

JOSEl'II  C.   STILES,  D.  D. 

rrf.n     dt^fi 

^^TFAIILESTON,  f^.  C. : 

Tlie  South  Carolina  Trad  Society. 

1864. 


ATLANTA,  GBOKGIA  : 
IFranklin.    I*rinLtin.g    Hou.se. 

J.  f.   TOON  A  00.,   PR0PRIKT0B8. 


CAPT.  THOS.  E.  KING. 


On  the  19th  day  of  September,  1863, 
the  Confederate  Armj,  under  General 
Bragg,  and  the  Federal  forces,  under 
Gen.  Rosecrans,  were  drawn  up  in  line 
of  battle  on  Chick amauga  creek.  Brig. 
Gen.  Preston  Smith,  whose  scars  testi- 
fied to  his  gallantry  in  the  past,  and 
whose  life-blood  upon  the  battle-field 
closed  his  heroic  service  of  his  country 
that  very  day,  it  was  well  known  was 
about  to  enter  upon  the  responsibilities 
of  a  momentous  conflict  with  an  inade- 
quate staff.  All  hearts  and  eyes  are  now 
addressed  to  the  front.  A  mounted 
stranger,  in  military  dress,  is  seen  beside 
the  General ;  he  may  be  a  casual  ac- 
quaintance who  will  presently  retire. — 
He  accompanies  the  commanding  Gen- 
eral from  one  point  to  another ;  still  he 


.^  ,^  r^  tr^ 


I        4  CAPT.    THOMAS    E.    KING, 


may  only  seek  friendly  conference  until 
the  battle  commences.  The  cannon  is 
booming,  the  musketry  is  rattling ;  but 
the  stranger  has  not  disappeared.  See  ! 
he  rides  rapidly  here  and  there,  bearing 
the  General's  orders  to  his  colonels, 
along  the  line.  The  secret  is  revealed. 
He  has  come  to  share  the  perils  of  the 
day,  and  to  serve  the  General  and  his 
brigade  through  all  the  vicissitudes  ot 
the  deadly  conflict.  But  how  different 
the  moral  position  of  the  parties  !  On 
the  one  hand,  the  General  and  his  brig- 
ade are  under  the  most  solemn  legal  ob- 
ligation j  every  man  of  them,  to  brave 
all  the  dangers  of  the  impending  battle : 
an  obligation  the  violation  of  which 
would  perpetrate  a  crime  of  crimson  hue, 
and  incur  a  penalty  severe  unto  blood. 
On  the  other,  the  unknown^  soldier  sus- 
tains' no  such  obligation,  and  risks  noth- 
ing by  declining  to  take  part  in  the  con- 
flict. Why  then  should  he  peril  his  very 
life,  and  hazard    all  he    holds  dear   on 


CHICKAMAUGA. 


eartii,  liv  thruwing  himself  between  the 
eii<'in_y  a;id  his  every  shot  and  shell  aim- 
ed at  the  brigade?  Ah  I  how  impres- 
sively, if  siU^nrly,  he  e^ehums,  **  I  love 
Miy  country  !  Her  cause  is  just !  Inva- 
ded by  a  powerful  and  maliirnant  foe, 
my  fortune,  .^nn^ngth  and  litV,  all,  all  are 
hers,  eheerfully  hers!"  Amidst  the 
roar  of  eamion,  whistle  of  shells,  fall  of 
men,  and  all  the  stunning  din  of  battle, 
ail  day  long,  with  a  buoyant  heart, 
l)right  eountenanee,  animate]  tone  and 
martial  I'ort,  he  ])ears  commands,  leads 
regiments  and  encourages  troops.  Thus, 
all  day  long,  vvith  admirable  eloquence 
heexpounds  the  loiid  calls  of  patriotism 
when  our  country  is  invarled,  and  the  ra- 
diant nobility  of  courage  when  adverse 
]>()vver  presses  fearfully.  Through  all 
tlie  varying  issues  of  that  memorable 
day,  the  ever  gallant  conduct  of  the  vol- 
unteer soldier.  l>ow  it  must  have  inspired 
the  patriotic  devotion  of  the  combat- 
ants!— infixing  upon  taste  m;-iy  a  vivid 


6  CAPT.    THOMAS    E.    KING. 


impression  of  the  exquisite  beauty  of 
patriot  heroism — inscribing  upon  many 
a  conscience  that  only  harbinger  of  na- 
tional independ(4nce,  the  moral  convic- 
tion, '•''  Ei^ery  man  should  be  a  hero  when 
his  couniri/s  liberty  is  imperilled.''''  Study 
all  itb  influence,  present  and  ultimate, 
and  who  can  tell  what  a  valuable  work, 
even  towards  national  deliverance,  may 
be  wrought  by  oneday 'sgal  lant  volunteer 
fighting  by  an  unknown  soldier  on  the  com- 
mon battle  ground  of  our  country's  liber- 
ty, especially  if  sealed  v/ith  his  blood? 

The  responsibilities  of  the  day  are  over, 
the  enemy  have  been  driven  for  miles, 
the  soldier  has  hiid  by  his  musket,  the 
army  is  at  rest.  Our  nameless  oflicer, 
without  a  solitary  acquaintance  in  the 
brigade,  sits  down  to  commnne  with  a 
friend  whose  intimate  fellowship,  es- 
pecially in  anxious  hours,  he  has  long 
since  learned  to  appreciate.  In  solitude, 
with  a  calm,  firm  hand,  he  penriih-d  in  | 
his  note  book  the  fobovringrec'^rd  :  "Sa-,-  j 
i 


CHICKAMAUGA. 


urday,  19th,  5  P.  M.  Have  seen  the 
enemy  once  more.  The  roar  of  the 
cannon  and  the  rattle  of  the  musketry 
hrin<'-infr  vivldiv  to  mind  the  memorable 
2lst  of  July,  1801  ;  from  which  time  I 
have  been  out  of  service.  Brig.  Gvu. 
Preston  Smith  gave  me  position  on  his 
staff.  Through  the  mercies  of  a  kind 
Provitlonce,  who  has  sliitlded  me  with 
His  wings,  and  covered  me,  I  have  been 
preserved  without  a  wound,  amidst  the 
hundreds  wounded  around  me,  and  the 
thousands  of  shot  and  shell  which  sung 
the  requiem  of  our  dead  boys.  Thank 
God  who  gave  me  strength,  I  feel  that 
so  far  as  I  am  concerned  1  have  d«»ne  my 
duty.  All  is  quiet  along  the  lines.  The 
result  I  do  not  yet  know.  Sharp  shoot 
ers  are  pegging  away,  but  no  brigade  is 
engaged.  My  loving  wife  and  my  little 
boys,  I  know,  pray  for  me." 

Ah!  how  little  did  he  know  his  most 
solemn  need  of  their  wrestling  interces- 
sions at  that  very  hour.     The  brigade  is 


CAPT.    THOMAS    E.    KING. 


startled,  and  all  is  astir.  The  ci)mmand 
from  Gen.  Polk  has  been  dolivored, 
"  Forward  !  and  drive  the  enemy  from 
his  strong  position  on  the  heights  across 
the  creek."  The  troops  are  in  motion, 
the  brave  General  is  in  front,  our  gallant 
volunteer  by  his  side.  They  charge  the 
enemy  ;  a  volley  is  delivered  by  the  re- 
treating foe.  Not  an  officer  escapes; 
all  are  shot  to  the  ground.  Capt.  Don- 
elson  fell  dead  ;  Gen.  Smith  died  in  half 
an  hour ;  and  in  one  hour  more  the  soul 
of  our  unknown  hero  joined  him  in  the 
Spirit  land.  A  few  days  after  the  bat- 
tle, the  bodies  of  these  brave  men  were 
brought  from  the  field  under  military 
escort.  Our  Volunteer  Soldier,  was 
buried  in  his  own  town — It  is  hardly 
proper  to  say  with  military  honors,  for 
the  community,  in  mass,  bond  and  free, 
arose  to  receive  the  remains  of  the  ma  i 
they  loved  and  honored,  and  most. de- 
voutly laid  them  away  in  the  home,  pre- 
pared for  all  living. 


CHIC'KAMAUGA, 


9 


D()u])tless  when  the  brigade  had  obey- 
cd  the   Lu'Uteuaut  Genenil's  command     i 


and  driven  the  enemy  from  his  fortified 
heights,  and  wreaked  their  vengeance  on 
his    shiughtered    multitudes,    and    were 
now  at  rest  once  more,  deeply,  deejyJy 
did  the  soldiers  mourn  the  death  of  teir 
brave,  beloved  commander,  who  had  led 
them  to  victory  in  almost  half  the  States 
of  the  Confederacy.    And    surely  their 
thoughts  mast  have  rushed  to   the  un- 
known departed.     How  brief,  how  bril- 
liant his  career  !       lie  was  seen  for  the 
first  time  in  the  morning;  he^fights  by 
their  side  throughout  the  day  ;  he  is  seen 
no  nx'ic  iit  night.    How  seasonable,  how^ 
generous  his  visit!       He  came  to  fill  an 
inportant    vacancy ;    he   discharged    its 
perilous  duties  to  universal  admiration. 
Sword  in  hand  from   first  to  last,  with 
heroic  gallantry  he  presses  through  every 
successive    obligation  of    the  day,   and 
mingles  his  heart's  blood  with  their  Gen- 
ciaFs  al  niuht.     We  need  no  witness  to 


10 


CAPT.    THOMAS    E.    KING. 


testify  that  when  the  fighting  was  over, 
the  victory  won,  and  all  was  quiet,  the 
strange  and  striking  history  of  the  un- 
known must  have  started  in  the  bosom 
of  many  a  private  in  that  brigade  some 
such  hearty  enquiries  as  these  :  "  Who 
was  this  volunteer  Captain  who  seemed, 
in  the  morning  to  be  dropped  upon  us 
like  an  angel  to  fight  the  battle  of  the 
day,  and  who  went  home  to  heaven  at 
even-tide  when  his  work  was  done? — 
What  was  his  name,  and  what  his  mili- 
tary connection?  Where  did  he  abide, 
and  what  was  his  calling  in  life?  What 
style  of  man  was  he,  and  what  impelled 
him  to  seek  his  glorious  end  in  our  ranks  ? 
Whatever  incipient  interest  in  the  stran- 
ger may  have  been  awakened  by  the  in- 
timate and  eventful  interweaving  of  his 
personal  history  with  theirs  for  the  space 
of  a  day,  all  that  interest  will  be  pro- 
foundly augmented  by  an  honest  answer 
to  the  personal  enquiries  so  naturally 
suggested. 


CHAKACTER. 


11 


The  volunteer  aid  who  fougiit  and  fell 
by  the.  siJe  of  Gen.  Preston  Sniith,  at 
the  battle  of  ChickHinaii^'a,  nejir  the  close 
of  the  day  and  battle  of  the  19th  of  Sep- 
tember, wusCapt.  Thomab  E.  King, son 
of  Barkingtom  Kikg,  Esq.,  both  of  lios- 
weil,  Ci>bb  County,  Geoigia. 

Capt.  King  possessed  a  well  balanced 
character,  a  good  education,  quick  and 
excellent  judgment,  great  energy  and  re- 
markable business  capacity  ;  a  rare  com- 
bination of  gentleness  and  firmness. — 
Few  men  were  so  pure,  sijiipleand  mod- 
est; and  fewer  still,  endued  with  such 
universal,  captivating  benevolence.  He 
seemed  to  go  through  life  with  a  radiant 
smile  upon  his  face,  and  rarely  met  a 
human  l>eing  without  a  gush  of  kindness. 
Pre-eminently  genial,  he  fell  into  anima 
ted  sympathy  with  his  coni^»anion  upon 
sight;  yet  never  lacked  dignity  or  de- 
cision when  circumstances  called  .for 
either.  To  the  day  of  his  death  pro- 
found veneration  fur  his  failier,  and  ten- 


12 


CAPT.    THOMAS    E.    KING. 


derness  for  his  mother,  were  not  exIiiK 
ited  by  word  and  act  only,  but  itwaria- 
bly  found  touching  expression  in  the  very 
tones  of  his  voice.  'Twas  a  simple,  beau- 
tiful testimony  to  the  winning  loveliness 
of  his  fraternal  affection  that  the  five 
younger  children  should  have  uniformly 
addressed  him  by  the  tender  appellation 
of 'Brother,'  while  they  always  distin- 
guished their  three  eldei>  and  excellent 
brethren  by  prefixing  this  generic  ad- 
dress to  th(Mr  respective  names.  Of  his 
c>>njugal  and  parental  tenderness  we  will 
not  speak.  To  say  that  he  ardently 
loved  his  family,  kindred  and  friends, 
and  shared  the  reciprocal  ati'eotion  of  all, 
heaves  a  larger  truth  untold.  The  fact 
is,  he  loved  every  child  of  Adam,  rich 
and  poor,  and  was  always  the  most  pop- 
ular mtm  in  the  community,  both  with 
the  bond  and  the  free.  Naturally  unob- 
trnsive,  he  died  Mayor  of  the  town  and 
Commander  of  the  Post.  No  man  M^as 
so  familiarly  approached  for  a  favor  by 


CflARACTBR.  13 

the  aflluent  or  the  indigent ;  yet  no  man 
ooiild  so  readily  subdue  an  insurgent 
popidation  by  suasion  or  by  force. — 
While  every  manly  and  valuable  virtue 
composed  the  basis  of  his  character, 
prompt  and  cheerful  sympathy  with  the 
dependent  classes  of  society  probably 
constituted  his  most  distinguishing  trait. 
Many  a  time  has  his  hand  distributed 
enlarged  benefactions  tcv  the  indigent,  of 
which  the  world  never  heard.  The  poor 
as  well  as  the  ri(^h,  the  bond  as  well  as 
the  fiee,  broke  their  hearts  around 
his  grave,  and  now  fiil  the  public  car 
with  the  celebration  of  his  virtues,  the 
memory  of  his  kindnesses,  their  appre- 
ciation of  his  value,  and  the  expressions 
of  their  grief  The  servant  of  one  neigh- 
bor, near  at  hand,  dressed  her  own  fet 
chicken  and  sent  it  to  the  CHptain's 
breakfast  table  on  the  morning  of  his  de- 
parture for  the  army;  another,  at  a 
distance,  sent  "  Many  howdyes  to  Mass 
Tom  "  on  the  day  of  his  death.     It  is  a 


14  CAPT.    THOMAS    E.    KING. 

triumphant  endorsement  of  the  beautiful 
symmetry  of  his  character,  the  unsullied 
rectitude  of  his  life,  that,  though  so  uni- 
formly successful  in  all  his  social,  busi- 
ness and  military  relations,  he  should 
have  excited  so  little  envy,  and  that  the 
few  unprincipled  and  selfish  men  who 
did  harbor  unkindness  towards  him  rare- 
ly expressed  it,  well  knowing  in  their 
shrewdness  that  universal  admiration  of 
his  rirtues  would  very  soon  have  crushed 
both  them  and  their  opposition. 

In  sketching  the  character  of  our  de- 
parted soldier  in  this  critical  hour  of 
oui  country's  history,  it  is  seasonable  to 
remark,  if  by  nature  his  generic  charac- 
teristic was  benevolence,  by  providence 
and  grace  its  specific  developments  were 
patriotism  and  piety. 

I.  Patriotism. — The  spirit  he  breath- 
ed and  the  principles  of  his  conduct  are 
clearly  indicated  by  the  following  ex- 
tracts from  his  private  correspondence 
and  his  army  journal,  recorded  without 


PATRIOTISM.  15 


comment  in  the  order  in  which  he  penn- 
ed them : 

"yilledgeville,  Jan.  18th,  1861.— 
Iliirrah  !  hurrah  !  hurrah !  hurrah !  hur- 
rah !  One  for  each  sovereign  State  and 
independent  Sovereignty.  It  was  to-day 
'  Resolved  that  Georgia  has  a  right  and 
should  secede  from  the  Union ; '  passed 
at  4  o'clock  P.  M.  by  35  majority.  Our 
cannon  are  proclaiming  it  t©  the  world." 
"Atlanta,  May  31st,  1861.— To-day  we 
were  mustered  into  the  volunteer  service 
of  the  Confederate  States."  "June  1st. — 
Rose  at  4  o'clock  this  morning ;  the  hour 
I  have  fixed  for  regular  rising  during  the 
war."  "June  11th. — Though  naturally 
you  feel  '  desolate  and  lonely,^  I  thank  my 
God  that  you  have  been  enabled  to  ^  give 
me  up  in  so  noble  a  cause."  "  Winchester, 
Va.,  June  28.— I  find  myself  on  ground  hal- 
lowed by  associations  with  the  noble  Vir- 
ginian, George  Washington.  Our  camp 
is  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  house. 
Perhaps  we  are  on  the  very  spot  where 


16  CAPT.    THOMAS    E.    KING/  . 


his  troops  encamped  101  years  ago. 
At-any  rate  we  ai'e  on  a  similar  mission; 
for  as  he  was  sent  to  drive  back  t]^  in- 
vader, so  are. we ;  and  our  prayer  is  that 
his  God  may  be  our  God,  and  crown  us 
too  with  victory.  I  never  was  in  better 
health,  and  I  might  say  spirits,  but  for 
the  yearning  of  my  heart  for  home  and 
friends.  I  will  only  have  to  light  the 
harder  for  a  forced  peace,  when  1  have 
the  opportunity.  J^^or  one,  I  did  not 
come  here  for  the  sake  of  glory  and  re- 
nown. I  came  to  secure  the  blessings  of 
peace  and  prosperity  to  ourselves  and 
our  children.  Tliis  was,  and  is  what  I 
desire,  and  my  voice  would  go  forth  in 
songs  of  grateful,  heartfelt  thanksgivings 
if  the  knife  could  be  buried,  and  all 
sounds  of  war  quieted  within  our  bor- 
ders. But  if,  like  fiends  incarnate,  noth- 
ing but  war,  war  shall  be  their  cry,  why 
then  we  say,  let  it  come,  and  we  will  show 
the  fanatics  what  it  is  to  be  men  and  to 
stand  up  in  fearless  defence  of  our  rights 


PATKIOTIbM.  17 


aud  liberties ;  and  agaiu   we   say,  let  it 
CQme  .  ■   d  be  witli  the  right." 

,  J  Lily  2Gth,  (after  the  bat- 
tle o). — My  De^r  Father  and 
darliijg,x>xui  her  ;  IJiuow  that  your  hearts 
have  before  J  Ids  bounded  with  pride,  that 
your  thauksgiviDgs  have  been  most  fer- 
vently puaicd  out,  and  lliat  your  cup  of 
blessing  is  iy>\\'  rich  and  overflowing. — 
Tlie  2isX  Ui'  'luly,  a  day  pregnant  with 
glorious  uchievenieiits,  has  not  its  paral- 
lel in  the  aiii:;^-,  uf  Aiu-ricun  history,  if 
in  til  ll  youran- 
cest'  ,iic  KaLs  ot  iheirsons 
in  i'  .uies,.  and  justly  too, 
so  may  you,,  my  dear  pai-ents,  tell  .what 
your  s'.iiis  '-.  -  .lie  in  these  days.  The 
battle  oi  'i/f/e  iutroduecs  a  new 
era  in  Amen.  ly;  for  with  it 
comes  th.'  ■''■'  .  ,.^cd  birth  of  a  new 
i^^ition.  m  our  march  gloomy, 
dishearttiiovi,  and  lipe  for  rebellion,  un- 
til the  gail.uiG^BARiow  assured  each  reg- 
ilnenl,|).•l^..^;iig  by,  that  this  was  no  retreat 


18  CAPT.    THOMAS    E.    KING. 

but  a  direct  advance  against  the  enemy. 
Our  hearts  now  grew  light,  our  steps 
buoyant.  We  lay  under  a  galling  fire 
fnr  an  hour,  waiting  orders.  About  1 1 
o'clock  Gen.  Bartow  ordered  up  our  reg- 
iment to  support  Gen.  Bee  ;  but  by  the 
time  we  reached  him  Bartow's  (8th) 
regiment  was  cut  to  pieces,  and  Bee's 
brigade  routed.  •  So  they  formed  and 
fell  in  behind  us.  From  this  time  until 
3  o'clock  the  battle  raged  desperately, 
and  victory  wavered.  About  3  Beaure- 
gard told  Bartow  to  take  our  flag  and 
lead  on  the  two  regiments,  the  7th  Geor- 
gia and  17th  Virginia,  and  capture  the 
detachment  of  Sherman's  battery  which 
M'^as  injuring  our  troops  so  much.  Brave, 
noble  hearted  man  !  he  did  it,  but  a  bul- 
let was  sent  to  his  heart  and  he  fell  dead. 
We  pressed  on,  however,  nobly  standing 
our  ground  against  fearful  odds,  and 
drove  back  the  gunners  from  a  battery 
of  ten  pieces.  Strong  r-einforcements 
just  then  coming  up  enabled  us  to  keep 


PATRIOTISM.  19 


the  advantage.  Here  was  the  tiirnin:^ 
point  of  the  day  ;  for  just  aftor,  the  rout 
began.  We  were  under  the  fire  of  near 
ten  thousand  men — reguhirs,  Zouaves, 
and  picked  troops ;  the  air  actual  ly 
seemed  dense  with  flying  huHh'ts.  They 
grazed  us  on  every  side,  and  it  is  a  mir- 
acle of  miracles  that  every  man  of  \\-: 
was  not  mowed  down.  1  was  in  tho 
front  lank,  cheering  on  my  men,  when 
I  was  shot  in  the  ancle,  about  4  oVloefc. 
I  did  not  fall,  but  caught  on  my  sword,  "i*^ 
and  after  a  while,  with  help,  hobbled  to 
the  rear.  Our  regiment  miirht  have 
been  led  on  with  more  regularity  and 
order.  In  fact  it  was  nothing  but  a  firm, 
dogged  determination  not  to  knuckle  to 
a  pesky  Yankee,  that  made  our  boys 
hold  their  own.  Shake  hands  with  all 
the  mourning  ones  around  you  for  me. 
They  must  cease  their  mourning  ;  for 
what  offering  can  be  more  noble  than 
theirs,  sending  their  dear  on^s  to  be 
martyrs  to  our  country's  cause?" 


20  CAPT.    THOMAS 


Richmond,  Aug.  20th. — "  M)ft*i*ig« is 
perfectly  helpless,  av<d  sometiiii^y«T|5(i^\y 
painful.     OrdiuHrily    it   coiximences    to 
distress  me  about   12  o'clu^k^. wight; 
from  this  time  I  begin  to  watch  .for  .the 
dawn.     A  splendid  band,  just  now  pass- 
ing along  the  street  at  the   head   of   a 
company,  puts  my  leg  decidouly  iu  the 
notion  of  stepping  off  to  the  tinie  of  tlie 
martial  music.    I  try,  to  keep  olT  melan- 
choly wliile  prospecting  my  tedious  con- 
valescence, and  only  hope  that  tlie  pro- 
phecies of  the  doctors  may  no,t«  be  rea^l- 
ized,  but  that  at  any  ra|.e  by  tlija,.ni.id41e 
of  October  I  shall  be  able  agaiivto  join 
my  company.      I  am  as  anxious  to  be 
with  them  as  they  ean  poss^ibly   be  to 
have  me."    Aug.  21st. — "Weil,  Father, 
it  is  just  one  month  to-day   since  I  had 
my  bout  with  the  Yankee--      '    '    \  o  no 
occasion  to  regret"  it  in  a:; ,     .   ._  ,  but 
would  willingly   go  through  all  i  have 
endured,  and   more,  to  have  been  with 
our    troops   in    so   glorious    a  fight  as 


PATKIOTlSM.  21 


Manassas.  My  heart  beats  with  joy 
and  yet  is  filled  with  sadness.  II ore  are 
five  of  lis,  hroUiLM's,  all  asstnibJed  in 
this  room,  in  iKichmoiid,  under  the  hos- 
pitable roof  of  my  kind  fri'M.  '  Mr. 
Pleasants.  We  hxive  banish'-n  ht)me*«^ 
comforts  that  we  may  stand  no  for  onr 
country's  rights,  for  our  own  :\\\<]  oui' 
children's  liberties.  P-ovi<lciiti;iiiv  we 
all  met  here  this  morniii'jr,  an*!.  ;/,i!i'ered 
around  my  lame  leg,  rone  we  J  mu'  v(»vis 
to  dedicate  ourselves  to  our  cfminoi; 
cause,  the  cause  of  freedom  for  on j-  pre- 


ler 


cious  Southern  h<»mes.     Y*>i 
have  the  honor  of  sending  .,s  to 

battle  for  your  country,  and  yotir  heart 
must  well  np  with  feelings  of  piide.'' — 
Sept.  2d — "' 1  am  thinking  that  my  l)oys 
have  gone  forward  with  the  advamce 
irvade  on  the  Maryland  shores.  1  feel 
impressed  with  the  belief  that  Uioment- 
ous  events  overhang  us;  that  viv,{..)ry  or 
annihilation  await  our  torces  on  liie  Fo 
tomac.     1  can  only  wield  the  aimJA  br>t 


22 


CAPT.    THOMAS    E.    KING. 


powerful  engine  of  prayer  for  our  brave 
sol'diers  and  beloved  land ;  and  thank 
God  no  Hessian  fiend  can  deprive  me  of 
this.  It  chafes  me  no  little  to  see  the 
result  of  their  initiatory  move  against 
our  ^ea-coast  defences,  and  my  only  hope 
is  that  v/e  may  profit  decidedly  by  it. — 
We  must  expect  reverses  in  the  present 
campaign ;  and  should  they  overwhelm 
our  present  forces  I,  for  one,  will  not 
be  broken^  hearted,  but  will  expect  to 
see  our  country  rise,  Phf^nix  like,  from 
her  seeming  ashes  and  show  her  malig- 
nant enemies  an  unbroken  front,  and  hurl 
them  back  from  our  polluted  soil.  I  can- 
not look  for  annihilation  to  our  forces; 
1  have  too  much  coniidence  in  the  just- 
ness of  our  cause,  and  in  the  justice  of 
our  God.  However  protracted  our 
struggle,  we  must  be  victori(»us  in  the 
end." 

The  patriotic  spirit  of  the  preceding 
extracts  was  more  gloriously  developed 
to  the  close  of  his  life.     It  was  an  entire 


PATRIOTISM.  23 


year  before  Capt.  King  laid  aside  his 
crutches  ;  he  walked  with  a  staf}'  until  he 
died,  and  colild  not  walk  without  it.  He 
took  every  step  in  pain,  v.-as  thrown  in- 
to pangs  if  his  lame  foot  struck  a  pehhle, 
and  alvvays  to  the  ground  if  his  staff  did 
not  sustain  him  ;  he  knew  that  he  was  a 
cripple  for  life,  and  did  not  know  that  he 
would  outlive  either  the  weakness  or  the 
painfulness  of  his  lijvih.  It  is  a  singular 
fact,  under  all  this  physical  discourage- 
ment, that  he  should  hare  gradually  and 
deliberately  arrived  at  the  conclusion  to 
consecrate  his  entire  strength  and  service 
to  his  country  so  long  as  the  war  should 
last.  I'o  accomplish  this  purpose  he  cm- 
ployed  himself  for  a  Jong  time  in  ar- 
ranging his  business,  modifying  his  con- 
nections w  th  society,  making  all  proper 
disposition  of  his  domestic  afTiiirs,  and 
ult-imately  executed  his  will,  and  com- 
mitted his  children  to  the  care  of  his 
father.  We  are  not  surprised,  therefore, 
to  find  the  following  record  \n  his  v,ar- 


24  OAPT,    THOMAS -E.    KING. 

inaiuiui :   "September  14th,  1SG3. — Left 

the  (l\dv  one§  a,t  home   aguiii,   having 

biiekltid  on  the  sword  to  joiu,  the  Army 

oi'  'l\'imessee,  under  General  Bragg,  to 

iother   biowvfor   independence^ 

:  >"dom  of  Georgia  Irom  the 

lid  of  the  xibolitionists.  Isfy 

joii),  as  volunteer  aid,  the 

,  Lwiigstreet  or  Gen.  Polk  ; 

:  y   service  in  the  held 

i]j  will  avail  anything." 

•  [ucstioned  whether  the  an- 

; :.'   v'oiiicderiiey   fui-iil^h  mauy 

;-.  ui'  tiic  love  uj  coiuitry  more 

;\'.],    <»!•  lofty,  than  tliat  coni- 

s  of  Captain 

.,.,,,  .iieli^ht  of  tlie 

We  j:u  asure  the  force 

\y^   the  resistance  it  over- 

oiir  soldier's  putiiutism  by      j 


U«x.;  ■  tilry  had  no  right  lu  eai i  hirn 

oui  rvice;  but  he  disdains  all 

n  and  m inches  out  to 


PATRIOTISM.  25 


meet  her  enemies.  He  ha<l  a  lovel\ 
family,  a  large  circle  of  appr.'('ifitiii<: 
friciuls  and  relatives,  and  a  liuoyant, 
cheerful  heart  to  enjoy  thiin  ;  l>ut  ne 
surrenders  all  secular  ind ulg!  nee  for 
his  country's  service.  He  had  a  largiB^^ 
and  lucrative  occupation  which  need  id 
his  constant,  personal  attention;  hut  ho 
turns  his  back  upon  the  attractive  claims 
of  business  and  sallies  forth  to  11  ^ht  for 
his  country.  He  commanded  tli.-  infant- 
ry, cavalry  and  artillery  recruiti  d  for 
the  home-defence  of  Koswell  and  its  vi- 
cinity ;  but,  not  anticipating  an  iwimedi- 
ate  raid,  he  obtains  a  furlough  and  seeks 
the  field  where  a  desperate  battle  is 
hourly  expected.  It  is  positively  true 
that  he  had  no  independent  physteal 
ability,  either  to  mfiuch  on  foot  or  to 
mount  a  horse;  but  he  conld  ride  when 
mounted,  and  therefore,  refusing  to  avail 
'himself  of  his  physical  weeklies  r  rossts 
on  to  meet  the  enemy.  The  inliuence 
of  a  father's  advice  ur)<m  that  son  -fnay 


26  CAPT,    THOMAS    E.    KING. 

be  inferred  from  the  father's  testimony 
that  he  could  not  recall  a  wish  through 
life  which  that  son  had  not  anticipated  ; 
and  yet  he  breaks  through  his  fiither's 
incipient  counsel,  to  go  out  and  defend 
his  country.      His  father  said  to  him  : 
"  My  son,  you  are  not  able  to  go."     He 
responded,  •'  Father,  our  State  is  inva- 
ded— our  family  is  not  represented  on 
that  battle  field ;  I  mw.?^  go."     It  was  a 
noble  response  :    "  Go,  my  son,  and  the 
Lord  go  with  you."      We  must  draw  a 
veil  over  pleadings  that  w^erc  yet  harder 
to  resist — those  of  his  wife  and  children  ; 
yet  even  these  he  gently  presses  aside 
to  serve  his  country.     His  clothes  were 
not  ready  ;    but  he  felt  that  the  battle 
was  at  hand,  and  could  not  wait  fen-  theni. 
His  servant's  hoYse  was  stolen  on  the 
way  ;     but  he    forbears    to   pursue  the 
thief  that  he  may  not  be  too  late  at  hfs 
post.      He  found  Gen.  Polk's  staff  wdl 
filled  ;  but,  undiscouraged,  he  seeks  and 
finds  his  place  on  the  staff  of  Brig.  Gen. 


PATKIUTISM.  27 

Preston  Smith,  on   tlie  morning  of  the 
verj  (lay  that  he  fought  and  bled. 

Oh !  the  power  of  [>atrioLic  devotion 
in  that  young  man's  breast;  what  could 
withstand  it?  lie  felt  that  by  a  deter- 
mined foe  his  country  was  sorely  pre-ss- 
ed  just  now,  and  must  be  as  f<irmidahly 
overborne  for  a  long  time  to  come.  He 
felt  that  every  man  shoul  i  do  all  in  his 
power  for  her  defense.  As  for  himself, 
he  threw  aside  all  legal  exemption,  all 
worldly  induJfrenee,  all  business  attrac- 
tions, all  honor  of  primary  command  at 
home,  all  !)odily  infirmity,  all  tamiiy  so- 
licitudes, and  pressed  rapidly  to  the 
very  thickest  of  the  fight.  And  was  his 
patriotism  tried,  wearied,  exhausted  by 
all  tliis  ?  Far  from  it.  He  urged  his 
way  through  ail  with  a  cheerful  will 
which  gat  hered  strength  from  every  sac- 
rifice; a  devout  consecration  which  fur- 
nished courage  for  every  emergency. — 
Exhausted  indeed!  when  he  was  mount- 
ed tV»r  the  last  time,  and  iroing  forth  in 


28  CAPT.    THOMAS-  E.    KING. 


a  fesv  irioineril.s  to  his  death,  on  a  bv- 
staucKu'  remarking  that  his  saddle  did  not 
seem  socisre,  with  a  bright  counteiianc*' 
and  uui milted  Unie  he  exciainied  "That's  ^ 
ri*:(iit,-v Doctor,  see  it  well  fastened  ;  for 
'•'  I  once  get  do\vn  I  can't  get 
Til  rough  all  the  duties  and 
peri;.,  of  the  (lay  he  went  forth  to  his 
death  vvith  so  much  of  this  same  calm, 
intremd,  hennc  spirit;  that,  in  perfect  ac- 
coj-uiiiice  vvith  the  public  sentiment  of 
the  bi-;  4ai3.e,  one  of  the  most  distinguish- 
ed oviicei-s  of  Gen.  Polk's  staif,  on  the 
batUe  [ield,  recorded  with  his  own  liand, 
in  (:■  •  i\  io'i's  war-manual,  the  fbllowiiig 
trii,  i/i^-  {/allanirt/  '.(oon  the  huUle 

■field  ioa.i^  conspicuous' ;  and  since  ihis  war 
be(j<ui,  no  .nobler ,  braver,  or  truer  heart 
has  'jceii  offered  a  Kacrijice  to  the  great 
came.''  To  this  high  encomium  every 
soldier  -of  Gen.  Smith's  brigade  whose 
^^  ey^^.^resrtied  upon  him  d'lriM!:^  his  last 
ev<  r  ■  '  '  ■  ,  and  every,  soldier  who  \^  as 
ev<  ;  ills  command  in  the  Potomac 


WORD    TO    01TIZEN8.  29 


ariiiy,  and  every  mau  who  knew  him 
well  at  hoiii-',  wiJl  delight  to  aiVix  his 
most  heart  \^  and  soieitin  amen. 

*Such  a  niitid  1  What  a  lucid  demon- 
stration of  the  justice  of  our  country's 
cauae,  an<l  ot  the-  duty  of  her  ev(^ry  cit- 
izen !  What  ho  fiaw  was  surely  the 
light  of  trutJi. ;  what  he,  felt  was  surely 
the  dictitlc  of  fcclUnde.  What,  then, 
shrtii  wo  think  of  tli^se  men  in  the  Con- 
federacy who  act  upon  such  opposite 
prinaiplcs  ?  w  ha  I  shall  we  say  to  them  ? 
Yo  speculators  !  ye  sordid  money -ma 
king  harpiefi  of  the  nation,  who  coolly 
seek  the  v.^ry  life-blood  of  the  land  to 
ieed-  yonr-unhHllo\vr-d  hist  of  filihy  lucre  ! 
Look  Tic  sacrificed  CO vet<">usness 

to  [>.":  md  sou<j;ht  rather  to  serve 

his  country  than  to  enrich  himself.  Go 
ye  and  do  likewise — ere  dread  retribu- 
tion overtake  you  at  the  hand  of  patriot 
men  wId  by  privation,  toil  and  blood, 
shall  have  won  a  national  liberty  in 
which  they  are  deeply  purposed  that  your 


30  CAPT.    THOMAS    E.    KING. 

cold  and  cruel  selfishness  shall  never, 
never  have  an  honorable  share.  Ye 
heartless,  worthless  exeinjyts  in  every  cor- 
ner of  the  land,  who  bribe  the  pliailt 
surgeon  to  endorse  your  pretended  dis- 
abilities !  Look  at  him !  You  have 
twice  the  physical  power  to  scrre  jour 
country  that  he  possessed  ;  but  in  her 
extremity  give  her  none  of  it.  He  first 
studied  how  he  could  best  advance  her 
interests,  and  then  laid  out  in  her  service 
all  the  little  strength  he  had.  G(^  ye  and 
follow  his  example ;  lest  deep  disgrace 
from  an  injured  country  settle  upon  you 
and  your  posterity  for  all  time  to  come  ! 
Ye  base  and  infamous  ^ulkers,  who  hide 
a  coward  heart  behind  some  fraction  of 
a  Nitre  contract,  or  in  some  work  or  of- 
fice that  pays  you  well  for  the  shelter  it 
provides  against  the  face  of  the  enemy  ! 
Ye  thousands  off  urlougked  sick,  wound- 
ed and  well,  scattered  through  the  gen- 
erous households  of  the  people  and  your 
own  homes,  who  by  time  and  kind  atten- 


WORD    TO    SOLDIERS.  31 

tion  have  refrained  your  healtJi  and  home 
refreshment,  and  are  now  every  way  fit 
for  service,  but,  ignobly  self-indulgent, 
still  cling  to  the  luxuries  of  the  family 
when  your  struggling  country  calls  you 
back  to  the  hardships  of  the  camp; 
whose  entertainers  grieve  that  their  hos- 
pitalities have  beeu  spent  upon  such  un- 
deserving men,  and,  day  and  night,  do 
now  begrudge  you  that  bed  and  board 
they  would  so  gladly  spread  for  the  suf- 
fering faithful,  returning  from  the  battle 
field  !  And  ye,  miserable  stragglers,  who 
are  sure  to  lose  your  regiment  when 
an  engagement  is  imminent !  And  ye, 
pitiful  cowards,  who  are  the  scorn  of  the 
brave,  because  you  are  sure  to  become 
desperately  ill  when  the  line  of  battle  is 
formed  !  And  yQ,  faint-hearted  ivarriors, 
who  enter  the  battle  but  are  sure  to 
sneak  out  exhausted  before  you  have  fired 
a  gun  !  Yes,  all  ye  miserable  skulkers 
of  the  country  !  look  at  him !  look  at 
him!    When  the  noblest  cause  for  which 


32  CAPT.    TIIOM-AS    F..    KmG. 

man  ever  shed  his  blood  was  put  in  peril ; 
when  '  the  brightest  flag  the  ami  ever 
shone  upon  was  unfurled  to  the  breeze  ; 
w^hen  our  country's  liberties  were  actu- 
ally placed  upon  trial  by  battle  ;  did  he 
turn  his  back  and  abscond  'I  Did  he 
seek  an  excuse  to  be  absent  u'oni  the 
fray "?  Did  he  pretend  to  some  physical 
incapacity  to  stand  at  his  post '?  Did  he 
content  himself  with  luxurious  indul- 
gences at  a  distance  when  his  country's 
life  was  perilled  on  the  battle  field?— 
No!  never,  never!  Creation  could  trot 
keep  him  from  his  place  in  the  racks  of 
the  faithful  and  the  brave.  Many  and 
strong  were  the  powers  that  tried  their 
hand  upon  his  patriotism ;  but  they  tried 
in  vain.  Nor  false  pleas,  nor  sensual  .com- 
forts, nor  the  cares  of  business,  nor  the 
counsels  of  friends,  nor  the  cries  of  kin- 
dred, nor  a  feeble  body,  nor  the  dread  of 
death,  could  arrest  his  gallant  rush  into 
the  fiercest  of  the  battle.  Oh!  ye  poor 
patriots  !  ye  .shrinking,  dishonored  men ! 


WORD  TO  SOLDIERS.  33 

ye  forget!  We  are  Jighting  for  our 
country^ s  liberty!  Look  at  him  !  and  re- 
deem yourselves  and  your  families  from 
the  inglorious  past  by  a  bold  imitation 
of  him  in  future,  and  we  will  gladly  hail 
you  as  our  noble  brothers,  our  gallant 
compatriots  in  the  purest,  grandest  cause 
on  earth. 

Ye  multiplied  thousands  of  deserters, 
hiding  in  the  strongholds  and  dens  of 
the  mountains,  or  skulking  about  in  the 
dark  corners  of  the  Confederacy ;  how 
mean  ye  feel !  They  who  turn  their 
backs  upon  such  a  cause,  must,  by  all  its 
exalted  nobility,  be  crushed  into  the 
deepest  degradation.  From  the  very 
bottom  of  our  hearts  we  pity  you,  our 
unhappy  countrymen.  What  a  stigma 
you  have  infixed  upon  your,  name  !  what 
a  poison  you  have  poured  into  your  very 
hearts !  On  the  day  that  you  were  mus- 
tered into  the  service,  say,  did  you  not 
swear,  that  you  would  fight  our  country's 
.  battles  to  the  end  of  the  war  1      What 


34  CAPT.    THOMAS    E.    RING. 

are  you  doing  in  the  mountains'?  What 
victories  will  you  win  there  ?  What  na- 
tional independence  will  you  establitjh 
there  1  What  respect  and  honqi'  from 
your  fellow-men  will  you  earn  there? 
What  noble  deeds  to  tell  your  children 
will  you  achieve  there  ?  What  brighten- 
ing prospects  for  yourselves  or  your  fam- 
ilies, m  time  or  eternity,  do  you  expect 
to  light  up  by  this  shameless  abandon- 
ment of  the  sacred  cause  of  your  coun- 
try and  your  race ;  the  cause  of  all  truth 
and  honor,  of  all  justice  and  peace?  Tell 
me  not  of  the  inequalities  of  the  Govern- 
ment— of  the  oppression  of  your  officers. 
Be  done  with  such  trifling  !  Do  you  not 
know  that  man  is  ftillible;  that,  especial- 
ly at  such  a  time  as  this,  there  will  be, 
there  must  .be  some  inequalities,  some 
improprieties?  And  have  you  no  more 
regard  for  your  character,  love  for  your 
countr-y,' appreciation  of  the  right,  and 
command  of  your  intelligence  than  to 
give  up  every  great  thing  under  heaven. 


MTqrd  to  aoJLDiERa.  35 

simply  because  every  little  thing  about 
you  has  not  been  doue  to  your  liking.? 
You  are  in  the  wrong,  my  countrymen, 
grievously  in  the  wrong.  Come  back  to 
the  ranks,  and  come  at  once.  Say  !  be- 
fore high  Heaven,  did  you  not  swear  to 
your  comrades  in  arms  thai  if  they  would 
stand  by  you,  you  would  stand  by  them? 
that  if  they  stood  ready,  in  every  fight, 
to  shoot  down  the  man  that  aimed  his 
rifle  at  your  breast,  in  every  fight,  by 
their  side  you,  too,  would  stand  ready 
to  shoot  down  the  men  who  aimed  their 
muskets  at  them  ?  Alas !  how  many  of 
your  faithful,  noble  comrades  have  been 
slain  in  battle  and  sent  to  man's  long 
home,  simply  because  you  violated  your 
solemn  oath  and  w^ere  not.  at  your  post 
to  defend  them!  Instead  of  destroying 
our  enemies,  you  have  been  strengthen- 
ing them  by  the  shiughter  of.your  coun- 
trymen. Come  back  to  the  ranks,  un- 
faithful men!  Look  at  our  glorious 
warrior !     He  might  have  saved  his  life 


36  CAPT.    THOMAS    E.    KING. 

in  the  mountains  and  broken  no  pledge 
and  violated  no  oath.  Thank  God  !  he 
needed  none  to  make  him  faithful.  He 
loved  his  country.  He  saw  her  peril.  He 
fled  to  the  rescue.  He  took  your  place. 
He  shed  his  blood  where,  possibly,  that 
very  blood  might  have  been  spared  had 
you  but  been  half  as  faithful  as  he. — 
Come  back  to  your  conntry's  standard; 
we  need  your  plighted  help ;  we  will  for- 
get and  forgive  the  past.  We  are  going 
to  triumph  in  this  struggle;  we  will  ac- 
cord to  you  all  the  valor  you  exhibit,  and 
share  with  you  all  the  glory  we  shall 
win. 

And  oh  !  ye  valiant  soldiers  who  have 
stood  your  ground  in  every  battle,  and 
covered  yourselves  with  glory  in  every 
conflict;  who  feel  with  us,  that,  God 
helping,  you  are  going  to  struggle  on  to 
liberty  or  to  death.  We,  who  stand  be- 
hind you,  and  are  not  permitted  to  fight 
by  your  side,  for  whom  your  breasts  and 
hearts  have  been  a  shield  in  every  ad- 


WORD  TO  SOLDIERS.  37 


vance  of  the  ftiiemy  ;  Oh  !  you  know  not 
how  we  love,  and  honor,  and  prize  you. 
Believe  us,  whenever  the  tidings  ot  your 
gallant  fighting  reach  our  anxious  ears, 
we  never  fail  to  weep  out  our  heartiest 
love  and  giatitude  to  you,  in  the  midst 
of  our  solemn  thanksgivings  and  praises 
to  God.  Noble  men  !  look  ye,  too,  at 
our  sainted  hero  !  See  how  the  spirit  of 
your  own  breasts  swelled  in  him  !  Like 
yo\i,  he  gave  up  everything  for  his  coun- 
try ;  like  you,  he  faced  every  foe  for  his 
country.  Like  him,  gallant  men,  go 
forth  to  the  death  for  your  country.  Oh  ! 
like  him,  let  the  love  of  God  ever  feed 
your  love  of  country;  and,  like  him, 
from  your  last  battle  field  you  will  go 
up  to  glory  as  in  Elijah's  chariot ;  and 
while  heaven  opens  wide  her  arms  to 
welcome  you  to  your  high  home,  earth 
shall  cheerfully  enroll  a  Christian  soldier 
on  the  catalogue  of  her  most  splendid 
noblemen. 


38  CAPT.    THOMAS    E.    KING. 

JI.  Piety, — Yes,  Capt.  King  loved  his 
country.  But  if  our  soldier  had  not  been 
apiousmany  while  we  should  have  re- 
gretted this  cardinal  defect  in  his  char- 
acter as  B.2)otriot,  we  must  have  mourn- 
ed without  hope  over  the  deadly  lack 
in  his  character  as  a  man.  But  thank 
God  !  though  constitutionally  bright  and 
happy,  he  was  a  consistent  Christian,  and 
though  uniformly  modest  and  unosten- 
tatious, he  was  a  zealous  Christian. — 
From  his  youth  he  had  been  a  professor 
of  religion,  in  the  Presbyterian  church, 
and  the  war  decidedly  brightened "  the 
piety  of  his  latter  days.  At  the  first 
prayer  meeting  he  had  the  privilege  of 
attending  in  his  own  sanctuary,  after  five 
months  absence  from  it  in  the  army,  he 
stated  to  his  brethren  that  the  last  words 
from  his  pastor,  on  leaving  home,  brought 
him  this  admonition:  "Now,  Tom,  take 
cSre  of  your  heart."  With  emotion  he 
expressed  to  the  congregation  his  trust 
in  God,   that  he  had  not  forgotten  the 


— 
seasonable  exhortation — and  surely  the 
tenor  of  bis  life  proved  the  truth  of  his 
protestation. 

Tlie  best  practical  test  of  a  ju.ui  n  piety 
is  i)is  habitual  treatment  of  the  Bible,  the 
Mercy-seat,  and  the  Sabhath.  In  these 
three  respects  the  rectitude  of  our  sol- 
dier was  conspicuous.  From  the  day 
that  he  was  mustered  into  the  service 
until  the  day  when  he  was  compelled  to 
k^ave  it,  in  accordance  with  his  original 
purpose,  he  regularly  rose  at  fouro*clock 
in  the  morniiio-.  The  early  and  the  clos- 
ing hours  of  every  day  (Providence  per- 
mitting) he  eonsciejitiously  employed  in 
fScripture-readingand  pfayer.  Surely  he 
must  have  learned  to  pray,  whose  con- 
sci<Hisness  of  this  duty  led  him,  a  month 
at  a  time,  to  conduct  family  prayer  reg- 
ularly, both  reading  and  praying,  when 
disease  hud  destroyed  all  power  either  to 
rl-t  troni  hia  bed  or  to  hold  the  Bible. in 
iiis  hand.  And  surely  he  must  have 
learned  to  pray  to  edification,  when  an- 


40  CAPT.    THOMAS    E.    KING. 


other's  servant   confesses,  on   the  Cap- 
tain's death,  that  he  had  been  accustom- 
ed to  steal  into  his  piazza  by  night,  and 
kneel  where  he  could  hear  most  of  the 
service  through  the  closed  door.     Nor 
did  he  confine  his  Bible  reading  or  his 
prayers  to  his  tent ;  he  was  accustomed 
to   read   his  Testament,   solemnly   and 
aloud,  while  marching — his  Orderly  re- 
ports— sometimes  for  consecutive  miles. 
As  for  prayer,  it  was  the  admiring  ex- 
clamation of  his  Lieutenant,  "  I   never 
knew  such  a  man  ;  he  was  always  pray- 
ing ! "     We  have  equal  evidence  of  his 
sensibility  to  the  sacredness  of  the  Sab- 
bath.    In  his  war-journal  he  makes  the 
following  records:     <*June  9th. — How 
war  breaks  in  on  the  sanctity  of  this  day! 
One  has  to  keep  a  record  of  some  kind 
or  we  lose  all  account  of  it.    I  hope  when 
once  we  get  into  camp  its  sanctity  will  be 
observed."  '■'  June  15th.-— We  are  prom- 
ised  a    quiet   Sabbath,    and    that     our 
march  shall  not  be  renewed."    He  writes 


PIETY.  41 


to  his  wife — "  Oh !  how  my  fteart  was 
ghicldened  by  your  letter  to-day  !  How 
different  your  quiet  Sabbath  from  mine! 
Mine  was  spent  amidst  the  noise  and 
confusion  of  eighty  men  in  miserable 
box  cars — the  Sabbath  of  our  arrival  in 
Knoxville — in  unpacking  the  boys,  and  in 
packing  them  up  again  for  the  night." — 
In  a  subsequent  letter  he  says,  "  Yester- 
day, (Sabbath)  much  to  my  annoyance, 
we  had  a  muster-  for  the  pay-roll.  I  do 
not  see  the  necessity  for  this  violation  of 
God's  holy  law,  nor  for  the  dress  parade, 
which  is  not  omitted.  Custom  sanctions 
it,  but  it  makes  the  law  of  God  of  none 
effect,  and  has  a  tendency  to  demoralize 
the  men,  more  or  less ;  I  wish  it  could 
be  done  away  with."  Still  later,  he 
writes  to  his  brother  that  his  brigade  was 
now  on  their  march  to  the  battle  of  Ma-* 
nassas.  He  felt  deeply  the  responsibil- 
ities that  awaited  them.  He  longed  in 
spirit  to  be  alone  with  God.  In  viola- 
tion of  his  regular  habit,  at  the  break  of 


4S  CAPT.    THOMAS    E.    KING. 

fl-'y,  he  leU  his  teitt  nnd  sought  the  quiot 
solitude  of  a  neighboring  grove.  His 
soul  waxed  warm  in  prayer.  The  sun 
Itad  shed  no  beams  on  earth  when  the 
soiene,  solemn  Sabbath  of  universal  na- 
ture was  profanely  broken  by  the  roar  of 
cannon  at  a  distance..  Then  it  was  that 
his  soul  deeply  rejoiced  within  him  that 
this -impious  prolanation  of  the  sanctity 
of  God's  holy  day  was  not  perpetrated 
by  Confederate  troops ;  that  though  ne- 
cessity was  now  laid  upon  them,  and 
they,  too,  on  God's  holy  Sabbath  must 
handle  these  infernal  destroyers  of^a^l 
quiet,  peace  and  life,  yet  that  the  sin  of 
all  lay  at  the  door  of  the  enemy  who 
had  nnade  the  assault. 

But  Captain  King's  piety  w^as  not  con- 
fnied  to  personal  fidelity  in  the  use  of 
'the  Bible,  the  Mercy-scat  and  the  Sab- 
bath ;  he  ardently  sought  to  sauctlfu  and 
to  save  men  by  every  means  in  his  pow- 
er— nor  did  he  suHer  any  cross,  however 
severe,  to  drive  him  from  the  path  of 


43 


duty.     His  men  had  left  their  rolio-jop'- 
privilp^es  behind  theiji ;  he  felt  that  he 
should  supply  their  destitution  to  the  ex- 
tent of    his  ability.      Kepilarly,  there- 
fore, while  he  remained  in  the  service,  he 
summoned  his  company  to  family  wor- 
ship at  his  tent  every  evenini]r.    On  these 
occasions    he  read    the   Scriptures,   ex- 
pounded  and    prayed.      In  his   corres- 
pondence, he  speaks  of  evening  prayers 
at  his  marquee  as  "  very  pleasant  to  me, 
and  well  attended.     God  jrr.ant  that  Ills 
Spirit  may  move  upon  the  hearts  of  our 
soldiers  and  much  good  be  the  result." 
He  followed  his  public  ministration  with 
private  effort.     His  soldiers  testify  that, 
at  all  convenient  seasons,  he  was  found 
earnestly  conversing  with  his  iiien  upon 
the  subject  of  personal  religion ;  that  he 
frequently  accompanied  an  aged  chaplain 
in  his  regimental  visitations,  and,  when 
the  missionary's  strength  decline/i,  spir- 
itedly took  up  his  work. 

The  actual  reformation  of  the  men  is 


44  CAPT.    THOMAS    E.    KING. 

another  signal  proof  of  the  zeal  of  the 
officer.      True  !    the  captain  s  cneerful, 
abounding  benevolence  doubtless  awak- 
ened no  small  part  of  the  idolah  y  of  his 
company ;  for  what  soldier  could  fail  to 
love  a  captain  who,  not  on  duty,  was  as 
intimate  with   him   as   a   brother,   and 
watched  over  him  with  the  affection  and 
sympathy  of  a  parent ;  who  carried  the 
soldier's  musket  and  knapsack  when  wea- 
ry, and  fasted  himself  to  feed  his  hungry 
private.     But  when  a  soldier's  love  for 
his  captain  reforms  him,  this  fact  estab- 
lishes the  piety  of  the  officer,  as  well  as 
his  benevolence.     It  is  pleasant  to  know 
that,  in  sympathy  with  our  captain,  no 
man  of    his  company    profaned  God's 
holy    name  in  his    audience;  and    that 
to  please  him,  the  profanest  waited  cheer- 
fully upon  the  evening  service.   "  Boys! 
I  never  thought  you  would  do  this,"  was 
the  kind  but  serious  address  of  Captain 
Kin<r  to  the  first  few  men  of  his  com  pa- 
ny  whom  he  had  ever  detected  playing 


PIETY.  45 

cards.  His  Orderly  sergeant  testifies 
that  every  card  in  camp  was  destroyed 
that  night,  and  not  another  handled  until 
the  company  had  changed  its  captain, 
adding  that  a  large  supply  of  marbles 
was  ingeniously  substituted  for  the  ban- 
ished implements  of  gambling.  Doubt- 
less a  number  of  similar  moral  and 
religious  impressions,  convictions,  and 
reformations  amongst  the  soldiers  bear 
testimony  to  the  earnest  piety  of  the 
captain's"  personal  example  and  public 
and  private  addresses. 

His  uniform,  earnest,  and  hopeful  ap- 
peal to  God  under  every  heavy  pressure, 
revealed  his  filial  experience  of  God's 
fidelity,  and  his  consequent 'trust  in  God's 
promises.  When  shot  in  the  ankle  at 
Manassas,  he  stood  up  for  some  time  on 
one  leg  and  held  by  the  branch  of  a  tree, 
coolly  giving  orders,  cheeringon  his  men, 
and  praying  aloud  until  it  was  necessary 
that  he  should  be  removed.  The  moment 
he  found  himself  released  from  further 


46  CAPT.    THOMAS   E.   KING. 

duty  on  the  field ,  aware  that  he  was  leav- 
ing the  battlenndecided j  he  broke  forth  in 
the  loudest  strain  of  prayer  that  God 
would  give  victory  to  our  army,  and  in- 
dependence to  the  country.  This  sup- 
plication he  continued  while  they  carried 
him  three  hundred  yiirds  to  the  rear,  and 
his  soldiers  say,  for  one  hour  and  a  half 
after  he  reached  his  resting  place.  It  is 
a  remarkable  fact  that,  while  passing 
through  crowds  of  soldiers  of  different 
regiments,  his  loud  prayer  amazed  and 
arrested  a  company  of  South  Carolinians. 
At  this  juncture  the  wounded  captain, 
espying  a  body  of  Zouaves  not  far  dis- 
tant, cried  out  to  the  Caroliniansj  "  For- 
ward boys!"'  The  order  they  instantly 
and  gallantly  executed,  capturing  a  por- 
tion, and  driving  the  residue.  A  few 
days  before  his  death,  on  the  eve  of  his 
departure  for  Gen.  Bragg's  army,  when 
his  mother,  wife,  and  children  had  re- 
ceived his  solemn,  tender  adieu,  in  the 
parlor,  and  had  followed  him  to  the  door. 


PIBTT. 


47 


their  loar.^  aiid  words  could  scarcely 
eoTisnil  to  his  setting  out  upon  so  fearful 
an  enterprise  in  spmueh  weakrtess.  H- 
gently  took  them  by  the  hand,  led  tlien) 
back  to  the  family  mercy-seat,  and 'com- 
posed their  disquietfide  by  committing 
himself  and  them  to  the  Ernardianship  of 
God  in  such  tender  strains,  with  such 
faltering  accents  as  they  will  never  forget. 
Finally,  ddiherate  readinesff  foj-  ihatk 
at  all  times,  sealed  the  sterling  type  of 
his  personal  religion.  He  seemed  to 
keep  death  before  him  from  the  day  of 
his  entering  the  army.  He  writes  in  his 
war  journal,  "June  14. — We  know  that 
many  of  us  must  fall  martrys  in  this 
contest ;  but  we  do  not  doubt  that  we 
have  a  ftither  above  who,  knowing  all 
things,  knows  the  justness  of  our  cause — 
and  when  lie  is  for  us,  who  can  be  against 
us."  On  his  way  to  Bragg's  army,  he 
was  met  by  many  of  his  friends  wli 
earnestly  pleaded  with  him  to  take  no 
part  in  the  battle^  alleging  as  a  reason, 


48  CAPT.    THOMAS    E.    KING. 

his  imperfect  command  of  his  bodily 
powers.  In  substance  he  calmly  replied, 
"  It  is  my  solemn  conviction  that,  in  the 
present  emergency  of  the  country,  every 
man  in  Georgia  who  can  reach  the  field 
should  be  found  there.  While  so  many 
remain  at  home,  the  least  I  can  do  is  to 
represent  the  conviction  of  my  soul  by 
personal  presence  in  the  face  of  the  ene- 
my. If  death  does  come,  I  trust  I  shall 
be  ready  for  it."  He  was  vrell  aware  of 
his  danger.  He  announced  to  his  body 
servant  on  taking  leave  of  him,  "You 
will  never  see  my  face  again."  Truly, 
he  never  did  see  his  face  again.  Truly, 
when  death  advanced,  he  faced  the  King 
of  terrors  firmly.  Mortally  wounded, 
sensible  that  his  end  was  rapidly  ap- 
proaching, his  note  book,  pocket  book, 
and  the  contents  of  his  pockets,  with  per- 
fect composure,  he  delivered  to  a  by  stand- 
ing oflficer,  prescribing  the  disposition  he 
would  have  made  of  them.  He  then 
solemnlv  avowed  his  .belief  in  the  Lord 


WORD  TO  THE  COtKTRY.  49 

Jesus  Christ,  and  his  perfect  readiness  to 
^nieet  Him  at  his  call ;  and  thus,  from  a 
victorious  battle-field,  left  us  for  the  bet- 
ter land. 

Patiotism  and  Piety  !  Ail  we  need 
in  our  countrj^'s  emergency;  the  one 
brings  us  all  the  power  of  man,  the  other 
all  the  power  of  God.  IIow  eminently 
qualified  was  our  departed  soldier  to 
serve  his. country,  so  decided  both  in 
his  pkty  and  in  his  jyati-iotipn.  ' 

My  countrymen  !  God  is  the  great 
war  maker.  "I  bring  the  sword  upon  a 
land."  God,thegreat^:>mc<!  ma/cer.  "He 
maketh  peace."  And  war  is  God's  solemn 
arraignment  of  a  people  for  national  sin. 
"In  righteousness  He  judgeth  and  maketh 
war."  This,  our  wau,  therefore,  in  the 
main,  is — God  Almighty,  in  fatherly 

LOVE,  DEALING  WITH  THE  SOUTHERN  CON- 
FEDERACY FOR  HER  SIN. 

Half  angered,  do  you  cry  out,  "Are 
not  the  North  greater  sinners  than  the 
South  r'     Grant  it,  what   then  ?     Does 


50  CAPT.    THOMAS    K.    KING. 

this  disprove  the  position  1  Did  not 
God  frequently  employ  the  heathen,  by 
war,  to  chastise  Israel,  and  does  not  the 
Bible  say  so  1  Was  not  Israel  a  better 
people  than  the  heathen,  and  does  not 
the  Bible  say  so  ?  Did  not  God  take 
greater  interest  in  Israel  than  in  the 
heathen,  and  does  not  the  Bible  say  sol 
The  very  fact  that  Israel  sinned,  that 
God  loved  Israel,  and  that  he  had  pur- 
posed her  sanctification  in  order  to  His 
blessing — this  it  was — that  constituted 
the  precise  reason  why  God  brought  the 
war  of  the  heathen  upon  his  people, 
"  Whom  He  loveth,  He  chasteneth,  and 
scourgeth  evfery  sonwhom  Hereceiveth." 
When  God's  word  had  failed,  heathen 
war  was  God's  parental  rod — speaking 
loud  to  Israel,  that  she  might  be  fu'st 
humbled  and  then  blessed.  Look  at  our 
country  !  not  through  northern  character 
nor  any  other  false  standard;  look  at 
her  through  the  Bible.  To  discern  her 
guilt  one  needs  now  no  specification  of 


I  WORD  TO    THE  COUNTRY.*  51 

her  most  aggravated  sins.  Look  at  the 
whole  Confederate  Cliirch  of  all  names  ! 
i  '  How  far  short  she  comes  o?  that  world- 
!  converting  worJc  required  at  her  hard  ! 
Look  at  the  whole  multitude  of  Confed- 
i  erate  sinners  of  all  classes  !  How  shame- 
j  fully  they  neglect  the  great  God-fearing^ 
j  soul-saving  work  demanded  of  them  !  If . 
j  God's  heart  is  set  upon  the  world's  con- 
j  version  surely  here  is  sin  enough  to  kin- 
I  die  God's  wrath  and  avert  his  blessing. 
j  Bear  in  mind,  if  heaven's  blessing  is 
I  ever  to  descend  upon  our  country,  there 
1  is  no  alternative,  she  must  first  be  sane- 
i  tified.  His  irorrf,  we  can  all  testify,  has 
been  plentifully  dispensed  to  us,  but  to 
little  purpose.  Therefore  it  is  that  he  now 
resorts  to  the  rod.  Believe  it  my  coun- 
trymen !  Oh,  believe  it!  AH  thes$  our 
sins,  our  personal,  national  sins,  God  in 
person,  by  this  loar,  is  charging  home 
upon  us.  And  see  !  if  war  is  God's 
arraignment  of  a  people  for  their  sin — 
then    Southern    sin   is   Federal  power. 


52  CAPT.    THOMAS    E.    KING. 

For  it  is  written,  "Ye  cannot  stand  before 
your  enemies  until  ye  put  away  the 
accursed  thing."  And  Southern  humil- 
iation m  the  utter  rout -of  the  Nortli. 
For  thank  God,  whenever  "Israel  cried 
unto  the  Lord" — Yes !  thank  God  !  her 
enemy  was  always,  instantly,  gloriously 
vanquished,  no  matter  what  his  power. 
Oh !  ye  soldiers  of  the  Confederate 
army  !  Our  dear  valued  countrymen  ! 
know  ye  thi» — it  is  God's  word  to  you — 
"  When  the  host  goeth  forth  against  thine 
enemies,  then  keep  thee  from  every  wick- 
ed thing P  Tell  me!  for  the  victo-y.  of 
our  arms,  the  overthrow  of  our  enemies, 
our  national  independence,  our  personal 
liberties  ;  for  the  cessation  amongst  us 
of  all  the  horrors  of  intestine  war;  for 
the  dispensation  through  all  our  bor- 
ders of  the  blessings  of  a  heaven-sent 
peace;  and  bettei-,  far  better  than  all, 
for  the  promotion  upon  earth  of  hu- 
man rectitude  and  divine  salvation — 
will  you  not,  my  countrymen,  will  you 


WORD    TO    THE    ARMY.  53 

not  put  away   all  your  profanities,  all 
your    dishonesties,  all    vuur   intemper- 
ance, all  your  Sabbath  breaking,  all  your 
straggling,  all  your  desertion  ?    Will  you 
not  give  heed  to  the  earnerit  voi<^e  of 
your  chaplains,  and  study  the  holy  word 
of  God  ?     Oh  !    for  heaven  and  earth's 
sake  will  you  not  rise  up  at  once  and 
break  off  your  sins  by  repentance,  and 
lot)k  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  for  ritjht- 
eousuess.    Thank  God  for  the  augmented 
}      religion  of  the  army  !     But  so  many  of 
you'  have  been  left  so  far,  far  in  the  rear. 
!      Oh  !  look  before  you  at  the  noble  exam- 
I      pie   of  your   converted  comrades,    ind 
;    .  close  up,  close  up  on  yonr  file-leaders  in 
;      this  march  of  national  deliverance.     We 
i      especially  commend  unto  y>u  the  char- 
acter of  our  sainted  captain.     Like  him, 
!      forthwith  cast  in  your  mite  of  piety  and 
patriotism,  an<l  record  this  solemn  reso- 
lution— ^**As  for  me,  if  I  fail  in  every  other 
work  and  object  in  life,  I  will  go  to  the 
I      grave  and  to  the  bar   of  God    with  thf» 


54  CAPT.    THOMAS    E.    KING. 

happy  consciousness  that  I  have  done 
my  part  toward  the  deliverance  of  my 
country  in  the  day  of  her  sore  trial." 
Noble  soldiers!    the  Lord  be  with  you  ! 

Y.Q'cold  Christians,  formal  professors, 
and  careless  sinners  of  the  country  ! 
You  are  working  mightily  to  stregthcn 
Federal  arms,  to  achieve  Federal  victo- 
ries, and  to  crush  the  liberties  of  the 
people.  What  deadly  bloAVs  jou  daily 
deal  upon  the  property,  honor,  peace  and 
hope  of  the  land.  Oh,  have  mercy  upon 
us  !  Pity  an  oppresed  nation  struggling 
for  her  very  life.  By  your  unrepented, 
provoking  transgressions,  no  longer  draw 
down  the  wrath  of  God  upon  our  coun- 
try. At  last  cast  your  mighty  influence 
upon  the  right  side,  and  by  an  honest 
return  to  God,  put  an  end  to  this  vile 
war  and  light  up  the  burdens  that  so 
sorely  oppress  us. 

And  Oh,  ye  avaricious,  covetous,  self- 
ish men  in  all  parts  of  the  Confederacy, 
whose  whole  soul  is  absorbed  in  one  con- 


WORD    TO    THB    PEOPLE.  55 


stant  effort  to  improve  this  nick  of  time 
and  suck  out  of  the  weaknesses,  perplex- 
ities, and  afflictions  of  disordered  soci- 
ety, your  own  worldly  prosperity !  Alas ! 
cannot  your  sordid  heart  feel  one  solitary 
pulsation  of  sympathy  with  all  the  woes 
and  perils  of  an  injured,  bleeding  people? 
Cannot  your  dark  eye  see  that,  under 
the  reign  of  benignant  Omnipotence,  in 
your  cherished  idol  you  yourself  are 
building  up  a  stupendous,  an  insufferable 
curse?  Are  you*  entirely  blind  to  the 
frowns  society  knits  upon  you"?  Are 
you  utterly  deaf  to  the  scorn  of  all  vir- 
tuous minds  crying  out  against  youl — 
Have  you  never  marked  how  your  griev- 
ous selfishness,  a  stench  in  the  nostrils 
of  Him  who  has  said  "  Thou  shalt  love," 
is  opening  every  vein  of  the  nation,  and 
pouring  out  her  very  life-blood  upon  the 
ground  1  Unhappy,  guilty  countrymen  ! 
Awake  from  your  deadly  stupor  and  look 
aboiy;  you  !  Your  shameful  lack  of  pa- 
triotism and  of  piety  is  stirring  up  the 


56  CAPT.    THOMAS    E.    KING. 

wrath  of  heaven,  bringing  on  the  Federal 
columns  upon  our  soil,  and  cleaving  down 
the  struggling  liberties  of  the  people. — 
Do  you  wish  to  accomplish  such  a  work 
as  this  ?  Oh,  it  is  noble  to  love  one's 
country,  and  nobler  far  to  serve  the  God 
that  made  us.  We  beseech  you,  pon- 
der well  the  portrait  of  our  sainted  sol- 
dier. Come  now,  and  with  all  our  fellow 
citizens  throughout  the  length  and  breadth 
of  our  beloved  Confederacy,  we  will  go 
up  and  m  ^.et  the  enemy  armed  with  love 
of  country  and  the  love  of  God.  Ah, 
how  soon  shall  the  North  be  whipped 
into  profound  contrition  for  her  most 
unrighteous  and  inhuman  oppressio]i  of 
us!  How  soon  shall  the  South  become 
the  freest,  the  happiest  nation  under 
heaven ! 


